Plug melted in the socket!

[JohnDiver]

Hey,

I have an extension lead which only had 1 thing plugged in and turned on, a blow heater from B & M.

It was in my grannys and she told me that she had to move the plug (Push it in) to get it to turn on because it kept going off, when I went to check the plug it was VERY hot, it burnt my finger.

I looked at the plug and it was totally melted on the side, you can see right into the plug.

I took it out straight away but 1 of the prongs was melted into the wall socket, it is still stuck in there now and I can't even turn the switch off because that's also melted.

Does anyone know what could have happened and what I should do?

This could have ended in such a disaster....

 

[Spark123]

Replacement plug and socket is in order, also ensure that the extension lead is a proper 13A one.
Isolate at the fuse box.

Is it her own home/council property/rented?

 

[JohnDiver]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Yeah it is her own home and the extension is 13, it has been used a long time without a problem, the heater is new though.

I really think this is something to do with the heater.

Isolate at the fuse box.

Not sure what you mean by this.

 

[mikeyd]

There will not be anything wrong with the heater.

The fault is a bad connection in the plug and/or socket.

Problem possibly only showed up as the heater is a lot more powerful than anything else previously plugged in.

 

[JohnDiver]

The same socket has been used for a lot before, laptop, 3 bar halogen heater and printer at the same time, this time it only had the heater plugged in.

The socket is a duel socket, the other has a triple adapter that always has the TV, sky and DVD player connected - that didn't have a problem at all.

 

[RF Lighting]

It's NOT the heater. The socket has burnt out. The fact your granny had to keep pushing the plug in for the heater to work shows there was a problem with socket.

 

[NewOrder]

As I am not a spark (merely just a passer by with a breif interest in electronics) the sparks here are saying is your holes on your socket were faulty. This meant that pins in the plug were not making the correct contact.

8-13 amps (a lot of power) through a bad connection will cause arcing (sparks) and over heat/melt the socket.

A lesson to be learnt if a plug ever feels loose in the socket, don't use it.

 

[cjard]

Isolate at the fuse box.

Not sure what you mean by this.

He means turn the house electrics off at the fuse box (also called trip-switches, consumer unit) before you go pulling the socket off the wall

If you need to use the rest of the house electrics before a replacement (or electrician) arrives, then turn off the electrics and use a pair of pliers to pull out the protruding pin, then turn everything back on. Try not to break the socket face apart

If uncertain of your DIY abilities, call an electrician

 

[NewOrder]

Yep even replacing a socket requires some level of skill and little things you may not know. Like the earth wire needs to be sleeved. To be fair the OP didn't say he will fix this himself

 

[streetlighter]

Replace the socket with a good quality one and replace the plug on the heater/extension lead with a good quality make like MK.
Ive had it before with a cheap extension lead and the cheap moulded on plug of a 2kw convector heater that burned out and welded itself into the socket after a while.